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Has your life been overwhelming due to the sheer fact you know you did something wrong? Repenting is the key to answering your need for settling it with God, clearing it with those wronged and receiving peace. Get started with Step 1 to learn how to repent and bring your soul peace.

Steps

Part 1

Accepting Your Sin

1

Be humble. Remember: you can lie to other people and you can lie to yourself, but you cannot lie to God. If you really want to repent, you need to be humble and ready to admit that you don't always do the right thing. Be humble before God and know in your heart that He is right and you should live by His word.[1]

2

Feel and trust God in your heart. You have to believe that God can forgive you and help you to lead a better life. If you do not, you will quickly lose motivation to correct your mistakes. Changing bad habits and righting wrongs is hard and you have to believe that God is there with you or you will falter.

3

Think about what you have done. Think about all of the sins you have committed and all of the things you have done wrong. Don't limit yourself to the big things like cheating or stealing: all sins are equal in God's eyes. Sometimes writing your sins down can be helpful. You don't have to make your list all at once, either. It's better to take your time and be thorough.[2]

4

Reflect on why your action was wrong. Before you repent, it's important to think about why what you did was wrong. Blindly following God's word only shows Him that you do not appreciate what you did was wrong. Think about the people that you hurt when you sin and think about what sin does to your soul (hint: it's not good for you!). Think about the bad things that that guilt leads you to do. This is an important step![3]

5

Repent for the right reasons. Make sure that when you repent, that you understand why. If you think that you should repent so that God will grant you some unrelated wish, you're not repenting for the right reasons. Repent because it is good for your soul and will make your life more enjoyable and productive, not because you want worldly possessions, riches, or other things like that from God. That's not what God is for.

6

Read the text. When you go to repent, begin by reading the holy text of your sect (the Bible, the Qur'an, the Torah, etc). Read the passages that deal with repenting but also read more fully of the text, to help God's word enter into your heart and give your guidance. When we sin, we sin because we have lost our way. You need to find God's path so that you can walk it again.[4]

The Christian Bible has many passages that deal with repenting, including Matthew 4:17, and Acts 2:38 and 3:19.

The major passage in the Quran that deals with repentance is At-Tahriim 66:8.

Part 2

Making Things Right

1

Consult with your spiritual adviser. Your spiritual adviser, such as a pastor, priest, imam, or rabbi will be able to help you to confess and make things right with God. Remember, their job is to help you on your journey with God! They are happy to help and they understand that man is not perfect: they will not judge you! Even if you are not officially in their congregation, you can ask for advice and set up time to meet with them, so don't feel bad talking to an adviser that you don't know.

Don't feel like you have to go to a house of God to repent, however, or that you need to talk to an adviser for God to hear you. God hears just as much from you as a religious leader. You can repent completely on your own if you want to.

2

Change your behavior. When you repent, the main thing to do is to correct your behavior. You have to stop committing the sins for which you wish to repent. This is hard, we know, but you can do it! It will usually take time and a few mistakes, but if you really mean it and you really wish to repent, you will be able to overcome.

3

Get help. Changing on your own can be really hard. It's okay if you need more that just a love of God in your heart! Admitting you need help will please God, as it shows that you are humble. You can join a support group, consult with a spiritual adviser, join a congregation, or seek doctors and other professionals. Getting help from people outside your church or religion does not displease God: He has helped them to gain the gifts they have for a reason!

4

Resolve the problems you caused. Another important part of repenting is making right the things you did. You can't just say sorry and then never suffer the consequences. If you stole something, you need to tell the person you stole from and pay them back. If you lied and someone got in trouble because of your lie, you need to tell the truth and help that person. If you cheated on a test, you need to tell your teacher and talk to them about what consequences they think are right. Do whatever you have to do to help the people that were hurt by you. This will please God.[5]

5

Use the lessons you have learned. Take lessons from the sins you are trying to correct, to help avoid making similar mistakes in other areas. Make your mistakes mean something by helping you avoid other problems in your life. For example, if you lied about cheating on a test and you want to really make that lesson mean something, make sure you don't lie about other things either.[6]

6

Guide others in how to avoid your mistakes. Another way to make your sins serve a greater purpose is to help others learn from your mistakes. Sometimes this means going and talking to people about what you did, but you can also actively help solve the problems that led you to sin. For example, if you sinned by doing drugs, consider volunteering with a local drug clinic or supporting legislation that helps combat this problem in your community.

Part 3

Embracing Forgiveness

1

Live a life that pleases God. After you have repented, you should take the opportunity and work as hard as you can to live a life that pleases God. Different religions and denominations have different things to say about what pleases God, but read the text and think about how you feel too. If God is in your heart, he will lead you to the right answer.[7]

2

Enter into your religious community formally. One thing that you can do that will please God and help keep you from returning to sin is to formally enter and be active in your religious community. For example, get baptized if you have not been already (and you are Christian). Go to services regularly, give money to your organization so that they can help others, and talk with the other members in your community about God's path. Help and love your brothers and God will be pleased.

3

Be active in protecting your soul. You should take an active role in protecting your soul in the future. Confess regularly and deal with your sins as often as possible. Watch out for things that you know lead you into temptation and stay away from people who don't have your best interest in mind. Keep reading the holy text and let God's light lead you down the best path for you.

4

Accept that you will make future mistakes. You are not perfect and you will make mistakes. God knows this. When you know it too, that is when you know that you are humble. Don't lose sleep at night worrying about what you might do to displease God. What matters to Him is that you try to that you make things right when you don't quite make it.[8]

5

Live a good life. Sins are mistakes that lead us to hurt others and hurt ourselves. When we live a life free of sin, not only do we please God and preserve our souls for eternity, we also make our lives happier and more fulfilling. This is why it's important to take sin head-on. If you're doing something that makes you unhappy or leads to hurting other people, stop! By bringing your soul the comfort of forgiveness, you'll lead a much happier life.

Forgiveness is an act of grace from God. If you're unable to forgive someone, pray to God and ask Him to give you the strength to forgive. Be humble and open your heart to Him; as people who have received God's forgiveness, we should forgive others.

What if I feel I could repent, but can't confess my sins to my family?

Community Answer

The most important thing is to talk to God about it. Tell Him what you have done and why you feel it's wrong, and ask Him for forgiveness. Your family doesn't need to know your sins in order for you to be forgiven.

I feel horrible for some of the things I have done. I've cried and have asked God to please forgive me and to help me. I'm trying really hard. Does he know this? Will he still accept me into heaven?

Community Answer

God knows how hard your trying and I'm sure he's happy about that. However, Christianity is centered around acknowledging your imperfection and God's perfection. While you should continue doing your best, remember that you're not going to be perfect, but God has given you grace. God loves you so much, despite the bad things. You're not going to hell. God tells you that if you don't turn your back on Him, He won't turn his back on you.

Tips

Forgive yourself. Do not judge yourself. There is one judge: Forgiving yourself, is something you'll need to do. If you ask for forgiveness but don't seek it in yourself, you will always hold what you did over your head.

Remember there is no limit on forgiveness. God will always love you. Nothing can forsake you from Gods love.

Change your environment. If something caused you to do the sin, then change the circumstances of who or what made you want to do it.

Know one thing that because of our sins Jesus was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received in our place.(Isaiah 53:5). Now he is ready to forgive, if you really change your mind, turn around and ask him to forgive.

Realize you are the only one who can change yourself (put on the armor of God). You can want to change. Your family or friends can ask you to change, but when the time comes only you will have to make the dedication to God and to change.

Believe things will change. Why not see them change? If you were addicted to narcotics or had a habit that you want to get rid of/or overcome, believe that you will get rid of the habit and seek help, if needed.

Catholics: Ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray to her Divine Son for you. He always listens to her prayers on behalf of a sinner.[9]

To repent, start by admitting to God that you have sinned and trust that He will forgive you and help you to live a better life. Think critically about what you've done, and come up with ways you can act differently the next time you're in a similar situation. Pray and ask God for guidance to recognize why your actions were wrong and for clarity about how you can be a better person. If you're having trouble with your prayers, try consulting the Bible to find passages that describe your problem or talk to a spiritual mentor, like a Pastor or Priest. For tips on making things right and accepting forgiveness for your sins, read on!

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Co-Authored By:

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Co-authors: 33

Updated: July 27, 2019

Views: 485,747

92% of readers found this article helpful.

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92% of people told us that this article helped them.

Ryan Hueter

Jun 21, 2017

"I didn't know if I could be forgiven for what I've done , I spent lots of time scared that I could never be forgiven, but this article made me realize that God can and will forgive me, and know I'm happy as can be."..." more

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Jaden

Jul 15

"It help me feel better and be closer to Jesus and God, knowing that I am not the only human who has sinned."

ST

Sierra Trent

Aug 20, 2017

"This helped me a lot. I was just laying down thinking to myself about all the bad things that I did and I've been praying and I've been trying to change, hoping God will forgive me for everything I did. I'm very shy and I don't like to talk to anyone about anything, so I've been talking to God a lot, hoping I was starting to get on the right path. I know it's going to take some time. Amen."..." more

NS

Nelson Shane

Jul 25, 2016

"I hope this helps me. I really need guidance to repent from my sins. I tried many times, and it's hard. Sometimes i feel like I'm no longer a Christian. But with this little help, this motivates me more. I've tried almost 5 years. So I hope this helps a little.I just don't know what to tell how I feel now. It's miserable. May God bless you."..." more

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Annie View

Jul 1, 2017

"Everything helped me in this article. I didn't know how to pray; it gave me steps on how. I didn't know what I would say, it told me say what I feel. For every question I had, it gave the answer rather than me going to different articles. I loved it."..." more

AM

Antony Kilele Mtemwa

Jan 3, 2017

"Living in denial, ignorance or secrecy does not help to repent. One has to own his past, present and future action so as to receive freedom of feeling guilty. This, as you said, gives one confidence on way forward. Thank you very much and be blessed."..." more

TK

Tracie King

Aug 27, 2017

"It helped me understand what repentance was all about. I'm being baptized today, and I'm really excited about getting all this off my chest and letting God help me and guide me. I want to please Him everyday. If not, I know He will forgive me."..." more

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Marquette Rowson

Feb 23, 2017

"I didn't know or understand how to repent until I read this. It helped me a lot because God is really so good to me and I haven't been the same to him. I'm going to push everyday to come closer to the Lord and do right by him."..." more

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Jen Frericks

Sep 4, 2016

"This has helped me understand what repenting meant along with how to do it. I've always been curious, but never looked into it until now & honestly, I'm very happy this was the first place I looked. Thank you so much! "..." more

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Cass Jones

Jun 12, 2017

"This helped me realize that I lie and sin because I am afraid to say no to my family when they ask me to lie and do things I should not do. I now must be strong in Jesus and say no. Let my no be no and my yes be yes."..." more

CM

CJ Maca

May 13, 2017

"First of all, thank you to the editors. The tips that helped most at this article are that God's forgiveness is unlimited and I must forgive myself. Also, that no one is perfect and I can stumble to sin again."..." more

NB

Nina Burrage

Feb 26, 2018

"Very detailed. It answered the exact questions I needed the answers to, and the community comments allow us to think from others' viewpoints on the subject. Finding this is a blessing in itself, thank you!"..." more

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Ram Mangla

Jun 4, 2017

"I have done sins of watching pornographic videos and movies, and now I want to change this sinful activity. Reading it seem interesting, I'll try to follows these things. Thank you so much, wikiHow."..." more

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Nov 25, 2017

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Craig French

Jan 15, 2018

"I was unsure about how I can repent, and I definitely knew I wasn't doing it correctly. This article helped me to understand what I need to do to repent. God bless whoever made this article!"..." more

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Jennifer Favia Guerra

Sep 5, 2017

"Your site gives a great overview of what I have recently been blessed with and experienced personally: saved, cleansed, reformed, forgiven, and brought back to Father Lord God!"..." more

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Melissa Monfort

Oct 27, 2017

"The whole article helped because I thought repentance would be a really hard thing to do. I see now if I fall on my knees and talk with the Lord, everything is possible, amen."..." more

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Anonymous

Aug 21, 2017

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Jul 29, 2017

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Renee Atkins

Mar 7, 2017

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Jun 20, 2017

"I've always believed that I could not atone for my sins, this article shed me some light on how repentance and forgiveness will help me change for the better. "..." more

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Quinn Lawson

Mar 24, 2018

"It was awesome. During the reading I was praying to repent, to me that means that I can truly be with him again and on a better earth and have a better life."..." more

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Norman Prins

Nov 10, 2017

"Thank you for the whole article. It has all the answers to all my questions, and answers to questions I have not asked yet. Really helpful. Thanks a million."..." more

Rei Amiel Jamaquio Andino

Aug 5, 2017

"I have many sins and problems that cannot be solved very easily, and I learned that God will forgive anyone if they repent everyday and do the right things."..." more

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Allison Nelson

Dec 16, 2016

"It was how to put on the armor of God that stood out, and to trust and believe you can change. I know God is there and loves me, and I love him too."..." more

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Chuck Bedal

Sep 12, 2017

"I meet with a group (5 to 8) men every Thursday morning at 6:00 AM over coffee. We share/help each other with our problems. We pray for God's help."..." more

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Paula Boatswain

Jun 1, 2017

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Aug 22, 2017

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Feb 22

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